Abandoned Home
by Clow Angel
Summary: Home destroyed, and near the brink of death after the attack, help comes too late to save his home. Found still alive, by a young miko who came to help, he is nurtured back to health. Will she break through his barriers of ice? Sess/Kag
1. Abandoned Home Prologue

**Author's Notes:** I know how many fics there are of Sesshoumaru kidnapping Kagome and such or something similar. I myself am a Sess/Kag fan so I wanted to try something else. Please bear with me on this one. It's a new idea and it's 7:52 AM on a SATURDAY MORNING that I'm writing this.

  
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Abandoned Home - Prologue**   
By **Clow Angel   
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**Time period: Feudal Japan**

Once upon a time, there was a young dog youkai that seemed to be around nineteen years of age in Human years who lived a wealthy life. He was a handsome, educated young man, albeit a little distant, no make that very distant. He knew how to fight. In fact he was extremely skilled and in tune with his abilities.

One night, a cool spring moonless night, an army of youkai attacked his home, burning it to the ground, killing everyone in the household. They stole what they had and fled with their winnings after the kill. Columns of smoke rose into the air, contaminating the starlit sky. The young man could do nothing but watch as he was overwhelmed in combat, and laid there severely injured, waiting for death to pick him up and bring him to the afterworld. Help would come soon, but it would be too late.

His servants were slaughtered, family killed. He however cared for them not. They didn't deserve it. Not after what has happened. Not after what they did to what he considered HIS family, HIS happiness. At that moment, the young dog demon wondered if he would be joining his mother soon. His vision was getting blurry, he could barely make out the trees or flames. He could feel the heat from the dancing fire, and smell the night air and the stench of blood mingling with the purity of the night and trees. Before he met darkness, he heard running of footsteps and saw a pair of deep ocean blue eyes stare down at him in what seemed to be concern. He can barely make out the girl saying "Hang in there! Hang on!" before darkness greeted him.

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**Here's the prologue. ^^ How is it? ^^ It's the first time I've written anything like this. I know there are probably gonna be a heck lotta mistakes in here. I'm not the best with grammar and spelling, I'll tell you that.**


	2. Abandoned Home Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: **Finally the first chapter ^^ I hope you'll enjoy it. Sesshoumaru might be a little OOC though, okay? ^^ So sorry about that.

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Abandoned Home – Chapter 1**  
By **Clow Angel **

  
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I woke up, feeling slightly tired. Something didn't seem right. Groaning, I sat up using my left arm to support myself. I look at my surroundings and find the room lit by candles. The shadows of the flames danced against the walls giving the room an eerie kind of feeling. Looking down at myself, I found myself dressed in a white haori. It looked similar to my clothes. I heard the door slide open and close with a creak. Looking toward the door, I saw a young dark-haired girl dressed in miko robes, with a basin of water in her arm rush over to me. 

"You shouldn't be up yet." She said, voice laced with concern for my well being, and sat by my bed on a chair she pulled over. Placing a hand on my shoulder, she gently pushed me back down onto the bed. I resisted the urge to growl at her for laying a hand on me.

"Why am I here? How long have I been asleep?" I asked instead.

"I was part of the rescue team that came once we received notice of your home's situation. I brought you here to heal you up. You've been asleep for a day."

I didn't reply. I merely stared at her. Does she not know I'm a dog youkai? She's a miko, so she should be aware of the fact that I have a tail. Before I could further dwell deeper into my thoughts, I was interrupted by her voice. 

"I'll be checking your wounds now. They should be almost healed considering the fact that you're an inu youkai." 

_So she does know._

"Why are you not afraid then?"

"Why should I be? I can defend myself against youkai. I've been trained to do so."

_Is she just brave or is she stupid?_

"May I?" she gestured towards my wounds. I nod. After dressing my wounds again, she places the basin of water and a cloth on a little table by my bedside. "Clean up and I'll come get you for dinner."

Staring into the mirror at the desk after I made myself somewhat presentable, I checked myself over, wondering how severe my wounds were. They weren't very severe. They would heal in a day or two. Now what was I to do? My home has been destroyed. Therefore, I have nowhere to go. I can rebuild it. Suppressing a sigh, I decided I would think of it when the time comes.

Several minutes later, the girl came as she said she would. I followed her down a hallway, turning left; we came upon the dining room. Dinner was served and I ate. The food wasn't half bad. It was quite good, but I wasn't about to say such a thing. After finishing my meal and waiting for her to finish, I decided to question what has happened. "What has become of my home?"

She looked up, then paled and dropped her head. Sighing, she replied, "I'm sorry. Your home was completely burned down. Nothing but ashes remains. However, I found two swords." Getting up, she leaves the room and returns a minute or so later carrying two swords with her. "These are the swords." Handing me the swords, I look them over. Finding that these were my swords, I strapped them to my waist. "Thank you for bringing them to me."

"Your sword radiates odd energy." She stares at my swords suspiciously. "What are they made of? I've never seen any sword like them before."

Almost rolling my eyes, I stared at her with a raised brow. "You're a curious human, aren't you? If you really must know, one is made from a fang of a powerful youkai, the other is made from my father's fang."

"Oh! That's interesting!" she practically beamed from the information.

"What is your name, girl? I've never asked."

She looked like she was about to blow a fuse. "Stop calling me girl! Or human! Or any other odd names! You could've simply asked, 'What is your name?'"

"Very well then, what, may I ask, is your name?" If I didn't have better control over my emotions, I would've grinded my teeth and narrowed my eyes, then slit her throat.

She smiled cheerfully. "I'm Kagome. What's your name?"

"Sesshoumaru." 

She blinked. "What a long name." Sighing sadly, she looked away. "Again, I'm sorry about your home."

"I do not need pity. I do not care for my home." She looked up at me in surprise. "What? Don't you care what happens to your family?"

  
"No." _…Not anymore._

"Why wouldn't you?! They're your family!" she practically shouted. I almost winced at the sharp tone. Having sensitive ears can be a pain.

I retorted in my monotone voice, "Do not tell me what to think of my family. You haven't a right to. You don't know what—" I stopped. There was no need for me to tell her anything. I should slit her throat in half before she annoys me further. However, I made no movement to do so. After all, I have honor. I will not kill the one who had rescued me before I return the favor.

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"Sorry…" I took a closer look at him when he said those words and realized he probably went through something painful to make him think of his family in such a way. He didn't say anything. He seemed even colder. His golden eyes hardened, his face remained stoic and cold. In fact, he hasn't made a single facial expression. He didn't glare, laugh, smile, grin, smirk, nothing! This man was an ice cube! I mentally hit myself over the head. _Don't judge people like that, Kagome!_

After another minute of silence, I stood and sighed. "You should rest. Your wounds aren't fully healed just yet."

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Sesshoumaru headed towards the direction of the guest room he was staying in while Kagome cleaned up and soon afterwards headed into her chambers as well. They both needed some rest after a long day. 

The next morning, Kagome woke up bright and early, just after sunrise. Getting dressed in her midnight blue miko outfit, she pondered over her houseguest. She sat down at her desk and looked into the mirror, staring at her own image. Today, she decided to braid her hair. Braiding her hair over her shoulder, she tied a blue ribbon into it to hold it together. Satisfied, she smiled at her reflection and got up, ready to start the day. _'I wonder if he would open up. Oh well, I can't keep thinking about him. I need to do my job of protecting the village and the Shikon no Tama. However, I can't help but remember his eyes. So much was hidden behind those golden eyes.'_ Stepping out of her room, she saw Sesshoumaru sitting on a tree branch dressed in his mended clothes, in the courtyard. She had also asked the village tailor the make several more of that outfit. It suits him quite nicely. _'I guess dog demons rise early in the morning too.'_ "Awake already, Sesshoumaru?"

Staring at the miko girl, he nodded once to confirm that indeed he does wake up early.

"How are your wounds?"

"My wounds are no longer there. They've all healed." Just as Kagome was about to turn and walk away, he stopped her. "Thank you." She stopped in her tracks and her eyes widened. She whirled around to face him.

"What is so surprising?"

"You. You said thank you. You barely ever talk and you say thank you!"

"You do not think I can say those words?" He had fought with himself to say those two words and now she acts as if the world has come to an end. He fought the urge to grind his teeth.

"Uh… no… It just seems so unexpected of you to say them. That's all." Smiling up at him, she added, "Well, I have to get going. I have a job to do. If you're hungry, there's breakfast in the dining room." With that, she disappeared behind the front door.

_'What an odd human girl.' _ Making his way to the dining room, he found a full meal on the table with fish, rice, miso soup, and all. Finishing his meal, he placed the dirty dishes in a pile on one of the kitchen counters. 

Deciding to look around the village, he headed out. There were a lot of trees and flowers in this village. It seemed forest surrounded it with a large meadow behind the village and more forest. There were people selling fruits and vegetables and meats at the market place and farmers working on the fields. All different kinds of smells hit his sensitive nose. _'These humans smell horrid.'_ Moving on, several children bumped into him. He growled threateningly at them and they ran away in fear.

The villagers didn't seem to mind his presence. They went on with their ordinary lives, which Sesshoumaru found surprising. Most people would run for their lives or start hollering if they spot a youkai walking around in their village. He then took notice of a fire cat youkai and several other friendly youkai in the village as well. _'So that's why. Youkai and humans live together in this place. How very odd.'_ Lifting his head, he noticed a familiar scent in the air. It was the scent of blood. Human blood. 

No more than a minute later, a monk and several villagers came running, calling, "Kagome-sama!!! Kagome-sama!!" A young pony-tailed woman rushed out of her home, followed by the fire cat youkai he saw earlier, and ran up to the monk asking what was wrong.

"Houshi-sama, what's wrong? Has there been an attack?" Worry was etched into her pretty face.

The monk's face was serious as he explained. "Yes, there has been an attack. A villager has been injured already. A pair of centipede youkai are looking for the Shikon no Tama. They appear to be mates as well. This can get ugly if we don't kill off both of them at once."

"I'll get Kagome-chan at once. She was healing a sick child before, but I'm sure that can be done later." Rushing off with cat youkai at her feet, she called back to the monk, "Go and stall them while I get Kagome-chan!"

"Got it!" The monk rushed off to do as he was told.

"Sesshoumaru?" I turn toward the voice and find Kagome and the pony-tailed girl with her cat youkai rushing over to me. "Should you be out here during an attack? You're injured."

"I'm fully healed. I told you before."

"Right. I forgot. Anyways, this is no time to chat. I have to go stop some youkai from hurting anymore people." She rushed off with her pony-tailed friend at her heels. I stood there for a few minutes pondering over what to do before I decided I might as well follow and see what's going on. After all, it was rather boring standing around doing nothing. Might as well watch a fight.

I jumped into a tree and watched the people below.

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"Kagome-sama, you're finally here."

"I heard there was an attack, Miroku-sama, so let's hurry. Sango-chan is catching up." Nodding, Miroku led Kagome to the beginning of the forest as Sesshoumaru secretly followed in the trees. "Several villagers have already been injured. They're going to need you to heal them."

Spotting the centipedes, they saw one was about to eat one of the villagers. "Oh no!!"

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**Author's Notes:** Okay, done! Is it too short? Too long? Suggestions? Please tell me in the reviews. ^_^ 


	3. Abandoned Home Chapter 2

**A****uthor's Notes:** Second chapter. ^^ I know Sesshoumaru is slightly OOC but I'm doing my best. I'm hoping he'll be in character in this chapter, but I don't know how it'll turn out.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha. I repeat I do NOT own Inuyasha. However, I do wish I own Sesshoumaru… ***sighs***

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Abandoned Home – Chapter 2 * * * * * * * * * * 

Spotting the centipedes, they saw one was about to eat one of the villagers. "Oh no!!"

Miroku and Sango moved out of the way, staying in ready position incase their miko friend needed backup. 

Sesshoumaru stood by and watched as Kagome went to work. Just as he started wondering what sort of weapon she would use, a bow and arrow materialized out of her pure purplish-pink energy. Aiming at one of the centipedes, she shot at the male one's head, completely disintegrating the giant bug. The giant female centipede went wild once she saw her mate die. Screeching, she dove for the miko. Sesshoumaru stood at the side with his usual bored expression as he watched the fight. Kagome nimbly jumped out of the way. Readying another pure arrow, she shot it into the bug's midsection, disintegrating it on contact. 

The fight was over.

"Kagome-sama, let's hurry and get to the injured villagers."

"Alright. Lead the way." Turning to Sesshoumaru, she looked up at him. "Why don't you come?"

"I think not. I'll be staying here."

"What for?" When she didn't receive an answer, she narrowed her eyes, and left in a huff.

_'Odd human girl.'_

He took out his evil sword, Toukijin. Holding it infront of him, he examined it. It didn't take much damage from the fire, so there wasn't any repairing needed. Strapping it back to his waist, he unsheathed Tenseiga. This sword of his never seemed to work when he wanted it to. It's as if it had a will of its own. Tenseiga wasn't damaged either. It looked fine, as if the flames never hit it at all. He assumed that it was the power of the sword. It had incredible abilities with healing and protection. He stayed in the large meadow practicing his swordsmanship for several hours to make up for the few days he did not, due to the chaos and havoc. Soon, it was nearly sunset. He headed back to Kagome's home, which not surprisingly, was a shrine. Jumping over the border of her home, he landed in the courtyard. Taking a sniff of the air, several delicious smells hit his nose. He assumed it was probably her cooking dinner.

Stepping into his given room, he sat down on the bed. Supressing a sigh, he stared at the single candle on the desk as it flickered. Wondering about his position as it is, he figured he would wander around and grow stronger, or he could rebuild his home first. Either would be fine with him.

That night, after a one-sided conversation dinner, the two inhabitants of the shrine went to sleep peacefully not knowing what lies in wait for them the day after. Fate would bring along an unexpected turn. 

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Author's Notes: REALLY short, I know! Sorry!! But I decided to end it here. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon. Also, as you might have noticed, I changed chapter one around to get rid of Fluffy's OOCness.


	4. Abandoned Home Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: **I apologize for the looooong wait. I'm terribly sorry! I just didn't have the inspiration for it anymore. Well, now I have some back...So I'll start writing again. This fanfic and my others will soon be updated. Now though, I'm rather unsatisfied with my writing so, I'll probably redo the chapters if I feel like it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. DUH!

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**Abandoned Home – Chapter 3**

clow angel

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The next morning, the inhabitants of the village found themselves buried under towers of flames. The villagers rushed to put the fires out. The humans went to a nearby lake to get water while the youkai who possessed water abilities would try and save as much as possible with their abilities. The other youkai would bring water as well. The entire village was in an uproar. Confusion, death, and other negative energies filled the air thickly. 

Kagome, being the village miko was trying her best to keep the fire from spreading by creating a kekkai. It would temporarily hold the fire from spreading further. Sesshoumaru, not particularly caring about the welfare of the people, decided to sit it out. Perhaps he can leave during all this confusion without being noticed. However, his pride would not allow it. He warred with himself. Should he help the ones who saved him? Or let them perish? After all, all creatures were bound to die one day be it earlier or later. It did not matter. However, his small percent of goodness won out and he got up to help put out the fire.

However, in the end, everyone's efforts came to nothing. Almost the entire village was burned down to the ground. There were many casualties as well. Over a dozen villagers have been killed within the raging flames. It was so early, just before dawn, that the onslaught of fire caught many off guard. It cost them their lives. The ones who have survived vowed to rebuild the village.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru found something to be quite odd. Raging flames burned down his home as well. Was someone trying to get rid of him? Going so far as to kill all those who helped him as well? He did not know. He glanced at the passing villagers who were tending to the injured, deep in thought. Did someone hold a grudge against the Taisho name? Whoever it was will die a painfully slow death. He would make sure of it.

For once in Kagome's life, she was terrified. Where was she to go now? Her only home had burned down. Her azure eyes were brimming with unshed tears as she looked sorrowfully at the remains of her once cheerful village. "What am I to do…?" she whispered as she dropped to her knees, hugging herself tightly, fists clenched tightly onto her miko robes.

"Miko."

Kagome looked up and found herself lost in golden eyes. "Na-nani…?"

"I am leaving." With that said, Sesshoumaru turned to leave, only to be stopped by Kagome's hands clinging to his sleeve. He paused and looked down at the teary-eyed miko.

"Take me with you," she pleaded. She had deduced the people who set her village on fire were one and the same as those who burned down the Taisho castle.

"No."

"Onegai!" The azure-eyed priestess was almost reduced to sobs again. "I have a hunch those who tried to kill us today were the ones after you as well! I must avenge the village!"

Sesshoumaru stood, staring stoically down at the pleading young woman. He warred with himself. Should he take her with him? Would she be a burden? He did understand one's need for revenge as he wanted to avenge his family name as well, but that was it. It was the name he wanted to bring back. He cared not for his 'family'. She wanted to avenge her people, her village. He didn't really understand why though. The dead remained dead. They wouldn't know whether they've been avenged or not.

Kagome didn't know what was going through the youkai's mind. However, she did hope he'd allow her to join him. Having a youkai companion on a journey had its good points. He had a sensitive nose, good hearing, and whatever his abilities were. As for her, she had her miko abilities of creating kekkai, shooting purifying arrows, amongst other things. And…she has never traveled alone before. Even though the stoic youkai before her rarely spoke, he was still company, right?

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru was still thinking. 'Would she be a burden?' His answer was a maybe. After all, she was a miko and priestesses had their own unique powers, but having both youkai and miko traveling together was odd. Humans and youkai mingling was weird, but a priestess and youkai together was even weirder. It was simply not normal. However, this village consisted of both and they lived together quite well. To hell with that. Like he ever cared what others thought of him before. The only burden would be traveling at a slower pace, a lot slower pace. He could simply fly at several different speeds to reach a destination depending on urgency. He did not have to walk, but if he had to he would. Or, he could just fly with the miko. If she falls, she dies. Simple.

Looking down at the miko whose tears were now slowing, he stiffly nodded before turning once again and heading towards the entrance of the village. "I shall be waiting."

Kagome smiled in relief.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango called. "Daijoubu ka?"

"Daijoubu. Watashi wa daijoubu desu," Kagome replied with a soft smile. "I'm leaving. I need to avenge the village, Sango-chan."

"…You're leaving? Now? By yourself? You've never been alone before!" Sango protested.

"Iie, demo daijoubu. Sesshoumaru will be with me."

"The youkai we rescued? Oh, then I'm a little more at ease," Sango smiled with relief. "Demo, I still don't really trust him. Take Kirara with you. She'll be of use."

"Nani? But you've always had Kirara with you. I can't simply take her. You'll be left alone."

"It's okay. I have Houshi-sama to watch my back."

"You mean to watch your backside."

Sango turned a ripe tomato red. "Kagome-chan!"

"Joudan, joudan!" Kagome giggled.

The taijiya coughed. "Kirara!" Sango called. Seconds later, the fire cat appeared from above, landing besides the demon slayer.

"Kirara, I want you to go with Kagome. She's leaving the village to avenge the ones who passed today. I don't want her to be alone with that stoic youkai." Sango patted the cat's large head. "Will you go?"

The large cat stepped up to Kagome and butted her head against the miko's stomach.

"Thank you Kirara. Take care of Kagome-chan for us." Sango turned and left but not without a final pat on her pet cat's head.

"You can turn back to your smaller self now. I need to go packing."

In a burst of fire, giant Kirara turned into a small kitten-sized cat that leapt onto Kagome's shoulder, finding it a comfortable seat.

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Groaning, Kagome slumped to the ground, completely exhausted. She had never walked so much in her life and the damn expressionless man she was traveling with didn't seem to know or should she say care, how tired she was. 

"Mouuu… tsukareta!"

Sesshoumaru paused in his step and turned his silver head slightly to watch the miko out of the corner of his eye. He knew this would happen… Were humans really this much weaker? Mentally sighing, he looked up into the sky and found the sun was close to setting and the sky was littered with oranges and reds.

"We will camp here."

"Thank kami-sama! My legs were about to fall off!" she sighed in relief as she collapsed onto the ground, grateful for finally being able to get some rest.

Sesshoumaru stared at the human with a raised brow. _This human and exaggerations..._

Kirara looked up at the human sympathetically. She would've offered her a ride if the miko hadn't been so stubbornly muttering about how she can walk just as much as the youkai in front of her could.

"I'll go gather firewood then!" Kagome smiled and got up to look for dry branches and some leaves.

Sesshoumaru disappeared into the forest. By the time he came back, a fire was already roaring with the miko sitting in front of it with a pot of water. He tossed the now dead and skinned rabbits over to the miko and watched as she skewered them with a stick and began roasting them.

The little cat youkai was pacing in front of the fire and mewling. Finally Kagome sighed and rubbed the kitty's ears. "Kirara, you can go hunt now. Be back in one piece though."

In a burst of flames, mini Kirara was now 'Sabertooth' Kirara. The neko youkai immediately leapt into the air and flew off to who-knows-where.

"Human."

Kagome's eye twitched. "My name is Kagome."

The dog demon completely ignored her, opting to continue what he was going to say. "We must find a lead. I do not wish to traipse around nihon with no destination in mind."

"That, I understand. I do not wish to waste time either. However, how are we going to find leads?"

Sesshoumaru took a seat across from her, facing the blazing flames. "We will be going to my home's ruins."

"Good idea. Perhaps we can find some clues. Even a claw mark will do."

The trio had some rest that night and headed for Sesshoumaru's estates early in the morning only an hour so after sunrise. This time, Kagome took a ride on Kirara to save time and our favorite silver-haired bishounen took a ride on his funky pink-red cloud.

Soon, they were scrambling through the burned castle looking for clues, each off in a different direction to hasten the search.

"Yatta! I found something!" Kagome's happy cry of surprise rang through the charred walls.

Sesshoumaru was by her kneeling form in seconds.

"Mite!" She showed him a wooden doll with a strip of white paper on it.

"…" Sesshoumaru took the wooden figure from the miko's outstretched hands and examined it carefully with amber eyes. "A puppet."

"A puppet?" Kagome stood and examined the small thing in Sesshoumaru's hand, eyes on the strip of paper. "I see. So someone was controlling puppets to do their work for them which means the perpetrator was most likely not present during the attack." She recognized the spell. She had studied it when younger as a miko-in-training. It allowed them to control a shadow of themselves from quite a distant if they were strong enough to hold onto that power. Therefore, whoever had attacked both Sesshoumaru's home and her village must be a powerful foe to control several puppets at once, judging by the scattered broken dolls. She was sure the dog demon's family was no pushover judging by his power alone.

And yet, the enemy had succeeded in destroying the home along with most of the family. Yes, most. She was sure there was a few survivors out there somewhere. Something was wrong with the picture. How could such a powerful family have fallen so easily? It was unsettling. Something was not right.

"—man."

"Human," Sesshoumaru repeated a little more loudly, annoyed. He had called the miko three times already.

Kagome, deep in thought, hadn't heard him at all. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I just remembered the spell."

Sesshoumaru waited for her to continue.

"As you mentioned, it's a puppet. However, it's unique. In most cases, the puppet is like a berserker, destroying everything in its path with just one goal in mind because either the spell is incomplete or the puppeteer is a weak-willed or is just plain weak. However, in this case, judging by the sheer number of destroyed dolls, I can safely say our enemy isn't just any enemy. He must be powerful to have executed his plan with stealth. His puppets were obviously not mindless zombies. He had to have known every single detail in order to pull this off." Kagome paused to let the dog demon let it all sink in.

"And added to that, judging by your sense of smell, you can probably tell the true enemy was nowhere near here."

"Correct, miko. The scent on these wooden dolls is at least seventeen days old." Sesshoumaru had taken in the information and was now going through a list of potential enemies that had a grudge against his house. He had come up with no one that was powerful enough to control that many beings at once.

"From your calculations, that means the enemy must be several days away from here. For someone to control such a large amount of bodies, he must be powerful. We're not dealing with a mindless idiot."

Sesshoumaru said not a word for a long minute. "He will die."

Kagome sweatdropped, and stared at the now growling demon before her. "Ano, Sesshoumaru, perhaps we should move on…?"

Nodding, Sesshoumaru looked down at the broken wooden doll in his hand before crushing it with his fist and letting the splinters of wood fall from his fingers and onto the sandy ground. Turning, he stepped over several fallen beams and disappeared from sight.

Kirara who had just returned stared after the proud dog demon with confusion before turning to her temporary mistress.

"Uh… Well, time to go, Kirara."

Kirara growled before bursting into flames and reappearing in her kitten form. Hopping onto Kagome's shoulder, the two scrambled to follow the stoic dog demon who seemed to be ignoring their existence, having set an extremely fast pace.

"Sesshoumaru, wait up!" Kagome called after him while struggling to keep up with the dog demon's long strides. "Where are we going?"

Stopping suddenly, he turned to face the girl, almost causing her to run into him. "Quiet."

Kagome huffed. "Well, excuse me! I've been only trying to help. No need to give me such an attitude!"

Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to claw the girl's head off. Her voice was grating on his nerves. "We are paying a _visit_ to my half brother."

_Several dozen miles away, a certain hanyou sneezed._

Kagome blinked. "You have a brother?" she blurted out, surprised.

"_Half_ brother," he corrected, growling low in his throat.

"Fine, half brother," she repeated after him. "And why are we going to visit him?"

"…"

"Fine! Don't answer!" She huffed once more, stomping off ahead of him in the direction he was previously going.

The duo and a fire cat traveled until sunset once more. Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching their every move, shadowing their every step.

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**Author's Notes:** Okay, this was an extremely short chapter. For that, I apologize. I did want to make it longer, but that would mean I'd be heading into the next part. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out who the enemy is. 

And I'm killing my other plan. Inuyasha will be alive. Originally, I planned for Inuyasha to have died, but it seems he'll be more useful to me alive.


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